January 29, 2009
The jazz quartet Depth of Emotion, co-led led by New Hampshire native and vibraphonist Ed Saindon and the versatile saxophonist and composer Dave Liebman, is appearing at the University of New Hampshire on Monday, February 2nd. Rounding out the quartet are bassist Dave Clark and drummer Mark Walker. This concert, the fourth event in this season’s UNH Traditional Jazz Series, is also the sixth annual Tommy Gallant Memorial Scholarship concert.
The concert begins at 8:00 p.m. at the Johnson Theatre, Paul Creative Arts Center, UNH Campus, Durham, NH. General admission tickets are $8 each and $6 each to students and seniors. Tickets are available at the UNH Memorial Union Building Ticket Office and at the door one beginning one hour prior to the concert. You may also order tickets online or call 603-862-2290 for more information.
The Traditional Jazz Concert Series is co-sponsored by the UNH Music Department and the New Hampshire Library of Traditional Jazz. The library, established in 1978 by Dorothy Prescott, comprises books, recordings, and memorabilia and is housed at the UNH Dimond Library. Prescott’s generous endowment funds its activities including the Traditional Jazz Series concerts.
Depth of Emotion is about creating and evoking emotions through music. The group features the blend of Dave Liebman’s soprano saxophone along with Ed Saindon’s vibes, piano and marimba. The quartet’s focus is on group dialogue, improvisation, and spontaneity played with a wide dynamic range, producing music ranging from delicate lyricism to intense, virtuosic displays of abandon.
This will be Ed Saindon’s second appearance in the Traditional Jazz Series having performed a tribute to vibraphonist Red Norvo several years ago. Coming from the “four mallet school,” Saindon has developed and continues to refine a pianistic approach to mallet playing. He has masterfully absorbed and transferred the influences from the piano lineage that stretches from Fats Waller and Art Tatum up to the present. Saindon’s list of credits are impressive—he has played and or recorded with Ken Peplowski, Kenny Werner, Louie Bellson, Howard Alden, Herb Pomeroy, Dick Johnson, Dave McKenna, Peter Erskine, Jeff Hamilton, and Michael Moore, among others. Also a respected jazz educator, Saindon teaches at Berklee and has written several books and articles.
Dave Liebman is a Grammy nominee with over fifty recordings as a leader and over 200 recorded original compositions ranging from orchestral works and string/wind/sax quartets to re-workings of Puccini and Bernstein to world music performed with Indian and Asian musicians. According to Downbeat Magazine, “Liebman is one of the most important saxophonists in contemporary music…a leader and artist of integrity and independent direction.” His jazz lineage is remarkable—he was part of Coltrane-drummer Elvin Jones’s group, he played and recorded with Miles Davis, and has also performed with Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Pat Metheny, John Abercrombie, and others. A noted jazz educator, Liebman has written several texts, has taught at universities around the world and founded the International Association of Schools of Jazz.
Two additional concerts remain in the 2008-2009 Traditional Jazz Series. Russell Malone appears with his quartet on March 2nd. Largely self-taught, Malone’s awesome technique and versatility in the swing, bebop and blues idioms make him sought after by many major jazz figures including Harry Connick, Benny Green and Diana Krall. He also appeared in Robert Altman’s movie Kansas City.
The series wraps up on April 13th with Bria and Jim’s Borderline Jazz Band. This group features trombonist Jim Fryer (no stranger to the UNH traditional jazz series) and Canadian trumpet sensation Bria Skonberg. Other New England favorites appear as well including banjoist/vocalist Jimmy Mazzy and clarinetist John Clark.
